Double Shift
by Julechan
Summary: Two months after SR. Luthor's back with a murder streak, a scientist experiments with kryptonite, and Lois needs to pick up the pieces of her relationship. To top it off, billionaire Oliver Queen shows up in Metropolis, and when someone tries to expose his secret identity, he asks Lois and Clark for help. (Some background & characters taken from Smallville universe.)
1. Many Happy Returns

Chapter 01

"Many Happy Returns"

Lois stared at the pile of notes on her desk. There were photos, scraps of other newspapers, archive scans and her own scribbled annotations everywhere. Three people had been found dead over the last two weeks. Three murders. There was something odd about all of them, but Lois could not quite put her finger on it. There was a connection she didn't see yet. She was close, though.

If only she could concentrate. The familiar buzz of the newsroom around her, typical for a Monday morning, upset her more than usual. She leaned back, let out the breath she'd been holding and closed her eyes.

Before her mind's eye, she witnessed once more the events from almost two months ago, single images flashing like headlines. Superman Lives. Luthor Missing. Jason Lane pushing a piano across the room.

Superman was making himself rare, only providing the Planet with a brief comment on his well-being. Yes, he was still looking for Lex Luthor. No, he could not tell them exactly what had transpired on the kryptonite island that was now orbiting the Moon. Indeed, there was nothing print-worthy to be had from the Man of Steel lately.

But all the questions Lois would as him were too personal to print anyway. How is it possible that we have a son? Why don't I remember? What was so terrible that I needed to forget?

As Lois opened her eyes, she saw Clark standing by her desk. Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he looked as nervous as ever. "Are you all right, Lois?"

She sat up properly. "Sure. Peachy."

"You don't look peachy." He paused. "I-I mean, of course you do, but I mean… you look tired." He smiled weakly.

Lois sighed. "I'm tired. Mostly of this case, though. Perry wants me to let it go – but I know I'm right about this."

She stood up to get some coffee. Clark trailed after her to the small excuse for a break room.

"You know, er.. Lois, I think you're onto something!" He squeezed through the door after her, nearly toppling a tower of cardboard boxes that blocked his way. He closed the door to shut out some of the noise.

"Thanks, Clark, but unfortunately you're not my editor."

Lois sipped on her coffee. Richard. If he were here, he might have put in a good word for her with Perry. She immediately scolded herself – she shouldn't always think of him as an instrument rather than a boyfriend. Fiancé, she corrected herself. The ring on her finger rested heavily against the warm cup.

Clark poured himself a cup and followed her gaze to the empty editor's office. "Is Richard not around today?"

"He's covering that conference in Florida." Volunteered, even. Lois recalled how eager he was to get away for a few days. She hadn't told him the truth about Jason yet, but she reckoned it was only a matter of time before he found out.

Clark was watching her intently. "If you need help, with your investigation, I mean, I could always…", he offered.

Lois smiled a little. "Sure, that would be great", she managed. She stopped to actually look at her former partner for a moment. "Yeah, why not. We used to get some decent work done, right?"

Clark beamed. "Sure we did! I mean… It's good to be back."

Perry's voice boomed through the office. "LANE! KENT! In here, now!"

They quickly manoeuvred through the desks and quickly shut the glass door to Perry's office behind them when he got off the phone.

"Don't sit down. Leave your coffee, you're going to the harbour. There's another body."

They took a taxi through downtown Metropolis. After a few minutes of silence, Lois glanced at Clark. He had a strange look on his face, not unlike someone listening to something very intently. He was also staring out of the window like a boy on his first school trip. It kind of reminded her of Jason.

"So. Our first assignment together after all this time. A bit different than where you've been, I wager?"

Clark seemed to wake up out of his daydreaming. "Huh? Oh, well, yeah. It's still weird to be back."

"You gotta tell me about it, sometime, right?" For all Lois knew, Clark had been on soul-searching wanderings in some exotic country – but that was just the hearsay around the office. She hadn't actually asked him about it until now.

Clark looked at her a bit strangely for a moment before answering. "Yes, I… I think I will."

She didn't like beating around the bush. "Look, I know I haven't been the most enthusiastic person in the last few weeks, but… it's actually good that you're back."

"It is?" He seemed surprised.

"Yes, well, working with you again reminds me of the good old days, you know?"

"Oh."

"A lot changed in the past five years, Clark, you better try to keep up with me!" She managed a laugh. Clark smiled sadly.

Truth was, she didn't feel like keeping up with herself much these days. Her life had changed, and just when she'd gotten used to it, they suddenly changed again. Lois still felt the whiplash. She still had nightmares about drowning.

Their conversation died again. When they reached the harbour, they saw police tape spread all over the place. There were several ambulances and a few police cars, but Lois noted that not much press had arrived before them. Perry certainly knew the right people.

Lois was back in full reporter mode. "All right, Clark, let's see what we've got."

"I'll look around," he said and disappeared. At least he hadn't changed too much in his routine.

She tried her luck with a few police officers, but got nothing out of them. Finally, she spotted someone who looked to be in charge. She climbed over the tape and grabbed her recorder. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Care to comment on what happened here?"

The moustached man in the coat didn't look amused. "I know who you are, Miss Lane, and don't you presume for a minute it'll get you anywhere." He started to walk away. "The police will issue an official statement, and you'll get it when everyone else gets it."

She hurried after him. "Now if I left it at that, that would make me a rather useless reporter, don't you think? Who's the victim?"

He stopped abruptly, so she nearly ran into him. "It's just some woman, Miss Lane, let it go."

Lois noticed he'd taken her back to where she'd come from and was holding the tape for her to duck through. She wasn't getting anywhere this way.

"Thank you for your cooperation," she mumbled and shut off her recorder. Behind a large container, she spotted Clark, and joined him. He pointed to the ambulance about fifty meters from them. She could just make out a dark-haired woman on a stretcher. She was looking boated and disfigured from the water, but Lois thought she recognized her.

"I saw who it was", Clark said. He looked extremely worried. "It's Kitty."

Lois' head snapped up. "What?" She looked again and saw that he was right. The body was being zipped into a plastic bag and rolled into the ambulance.

"Kitty Kowalski. I recognized her. She was the one with Luthor, remember? The one who distracted S-Superman? You wrote the article, right?"

Lois nodded, her mind racing. She had been on the boat with them. Suddenly everything clicked into place. The man who had been poisoned. The two guys in the parking lot. And Kitty.

"I remember. Clark, you know what this means, right?"

"Yes." Her partner stared at the ambulance as it drove off. "You were right about the connection. This is Luthor's work."

A shiver ran down Lois' spine. So he was back, then.


	2. Insecurities

Chapter 02

"Insecurities"

Nine more victims. Nine. They thought four were a "streak", but Luthor kept going. Superman was hovering high up in the air somewhere over Metropolis, listening. Trying to find the one voice he hoped never to hear again. But Luthor was not to be found. All he could hear were a troubled people, going about their daily lives. Among them, somewhere, was one small child with very special abilities, and his very worried mother.

Lois had been right about the connection: All the murder victims that had turned up had been known associates of Lex Luthor. Perry White awarded this scoop the front page, and now the city was buzzing with questions. And as each new body confirmed the news, people were getting more afraid and restless. Where was Luthor hiding?

Superman suddenly took a dive through the clouds. An alarm had gone off somewhere, and he'd waited to see whether it was something that people could handle by themselves. He had become wary of intervening at all times, and kept away from people as much as he could. Not in emergencies, however.

In a town north of Metropolis, a fire had gone out of hand. He flew straight into the building and listened for heartbeats. Two, on the second floor. Flames licked at his face, but he did not mind the heat. He raised his arm and flew upwards, crashing through the feeble floor. A young couple was cowering in a corner, holding on to each other, tears running down their faces. "It's okay, I'll get you out," he said. He picked them up, one frightened teenager under each arm. With his breath, he extinguished the flames that barred the way to the window, and carried them out to a cheering crowd below. He flew back and did as much as he could, but the house was beyond saving by now. He couldn't undo that.

Before the people could approach him, he quickly made his escape. He rose higher and higher, until he was at last looking into space. He flew on until he saw the moon. There was a dark chunk in front of it. The island Lex Luthor created had settled into a Lunar orbit, and Superman dared not approach. The last thing he needed was a loss of his powers while in outer space. He glared at it in defeat for a while, the symbol of his failure. There was an almost unlimited supply of kryptonite up there, and if anyone could find a way to retrieve it, it was Luthor.

His sensitive ears picked up Lois' voice. "Where is Clark off to again?!"

He smiled and turned back to Earth.

Minutes later, Clark Kent stumbled into Perry's office. "Sorry, Chief."

His boss acknowledged his presence in the small meeting with a curt nod. He glanced around and sent a quick smile in Lois' direction. She looked tense. Richard was standing close by.

"Annie, I want you to do the history piece: Not everyone is up to speed on Luthor's past – we'll tell them what they need to know. Brad, you do the victims' profiles with Linda. David, you're on…"

Lois was trying to interrupt Perry, but he paid her no heed. As he was done giving out assignments, people filed out of the office and Lois approached him. "What the hell, Perry, I was on the murders all this time, you know I had this covered!"

"You had the scoop, Lois. Now let lesser beings do the small print. The interviews you did could have been done by anyone. I've got something else for you. Clark! Stay here. JIMMY!" He yelled into the newsroom. Seconds later, the young photographer stood attention.

"Oliver Queen", Perry said, and slid a copy of the _Business Star_ over the table. A large photograph showed a blonde man with a condescending, boyish smile. QUEEN DECLINES BID ON TANKS DEAL, it read.

That certainly grabbed Clark's attention. He skid closer to the table and skimmed the article along with Lois. Oliver Queen had apparently turned down several potentially lucrative deals and was criticised accordingly.

"Old news. Doesn't the business section cover that sort of thing?"

"Well, the _new_ news," Perry grumbled, "is that he's in Metropolis right now." He paused to look at them. "And last night somebody tried to kill him."

Clark and Lois stared. "What?" "Why?!"

"Poison gas. Missed him, killed his secretary instead. I want the exclusive: Why is he here? Who might have a motive? Jimmy, I want some decent pictures. All of it. Go!"

"Clark?!" Oliver Queen's face lit up, as Clark, Lois, and Jimmy stepped through the door to the expansive office. Oliver strode up to them with his hand outstretched. Clark grinned and grabbed it, and was momentarily pulled into a bear hug.

"I had no idea! Of course, you work for the Planet, right?" Oliver's surprise made way for a genuine smile. Clark was glad to see him. "Oliver. It's been a while."

"Sure has. And this must be the famous Lois Lane", he beamed at her and offered his hand. Clark noted Lois' slack-jawed expression and smiled to himself. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Queen," she managed.

"Oh, and this is our photographer, Jimmy Olsen."

"How're you doing," Oliver nodded. Jimmy had a similarly bemused look on his face and just gave a silly little wave. Oliver spread an arm around the office. "Do come in. I'd offer refreshments, but as you can see…"

The office was covered in yellow police tape – which, Clark noted, they made a habit of crossing lately – but was otherwise in no state of disarray. However, a swirl of police, hazard teams and forensic units didn't exactly offer an inviting atmosphere.

They crossed the walk to Oliver's desk. Jimmy, after asking for permission, started photographing everything, drawing annoyed glances from the police. Lois stared at Clark and finally burst out, "You KNOW Oliver Queen?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

Oliver chuckled. Clark fell into his usual act. "Gee, Lois, you never asked!"

"Last time I wanted to interview him, I couldn't get past the secretary's secretary's intern…!" she added with a reproachful look to the grinning billionaire.

"Well, Miss Lane, now's your chance."

Lois was positively fuming, and shot Clark the "I'll grill you about this later"-look, but put on a gracious smile as she turned to Queen. "Well, now that we're here," she pulled out her recorder and held it towards Oliver, "what exactly happened last night?"

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and suddenly turned serious. "I was invited to dine with a few business partners last night. My secretary, Malcolm, stayed here." He paused. "I came back, and found him dead. Poison gas, they tell me." It sounded pretty rehearsed. Clark watched his friend carefully.

"You were unharmed?" Lois continued.

"Yes, the gas must have dissipated. I… you see Miss Lane, this isn't just my office. It's partly a rented apartment – since I am in Metropolis on business for a few weeks, I thought it would save me time. So I'm here most of the time."

"Indeed. So that's why you think the gas was actually meant for you, am I correct?"

Oliver hesitated for a split second. "Yes, of course! Going out was a rather spontaneous decision."

"Hmhm," she nodded.

A policeman suddenly came up to Oliver. "Mr. Queen, is it really necessary to have the press in so early? We're not yet finished here." He gestured to Jimmy snapping pictures.

Oliver was not fazed. "Is Mr. Olsen disturbing you?"

"Not exactly, it's just that…"

"Well, then I don't see a problem," he interrupted the man. He turned to the reporters. "I want people out there to know about this. I want whoever did this to know I'm not hiding anything."

His arrogant look was betrayed by the emotion Clark detected in his voice. He knew Oliver well enough to also know that his careless playboy image was just a façade – for a dedicated man who, just like him, spent his spare time donning a costume, protecting people. There was something he wasn't telling them.

Clark quickly scanned the office with his X-Ray vision, but detected nothing out of the ordinary at first. He had a few questions of his own, but they'd have to wait. Meanwhile, Lois continued.

"That sure is admirable, Mr. Queen," she said as the policeman left. "Not all our readers get this amount of honesty from … well, shall we say, men of your position." Oliver smiled rather smugly.

"Was anything stolen?"

"No, it seems that nobody entered the office at all. The gas came through the ventilation, and that was all."

"Was your secretary working on any sensitive files? Was his current work particularly important to you?"

Clark could see Oliver's fist clench under the table. "All the work he did was important – he _was_ my secretary. And," he added, "if he had worked on any 'sensitive files', I certainly wouldn't be telling you about them."

"Not so honest after all, Mr. Queen?" she exclaimed, missing his underlying tension.

Oliver forced a laugh. "You got me there, I admit."

"Any reason anyone might want to kill you?"

Oliver grinned, but it looked harsh. "Plenty of people, Miss Lane."

"How come?"

"'Unfavourable investments'," he air-quoted. "Some people think they should be allowed to tell me what to do with my own company."

"You inherited Queen Industries from your parents, correct?"

"You're well informed. Yep, well, that seems to piss people off more than anything, really." He stretched his arms and placed them behind his head, leaning back. "Can't let an 'upstart' like me ruin the company, can they?"

Again, Clark didn't pay much attention to what he was saying, but rather marvelled how he could see so well beyond his friend's careless act. His ears, meanwhile, were tuned in to the little noises in the office. Trying to blank out the talking, breathing, working people, he tried to concentrate on the architecture, the ventilation shafts, the little holes, nooks and crannies in the building.

"The ventilation shafts," he began, "are they connected along the entire building?" Lois and Oliver were staring at him, the one rather annoyed, the other, amused. He had obviously interrupted Lois mid-sentence. Clark quickly pushed his glasses up and lowered his eyes. "Um, sorry, Lois, didn't mean to interrupt."

Oliver turned to him. "What about the ventilation shafts?"

Clark got up and walked to the wall that had a large ventilation grid on it. It was hanging open, and one of the members of the hazard team had been taking samples. "Well, if the system is, uh, the same in the entire building, that begs the question how our perpetrator avoided poisoning everybody else." They were 45 stories up, after all.

Oliver followed him and gave him the most obvious stare. _Leave it._

Clark frowned and looked at the ventilation shaft again. This time, his X-Ray vision discovered a small, hidden device close to the wall, and an intricate system of wires attached to it. It was a camera of sorts. Oliver came a little closer and murmured in a barely audible whisper, "not now."

Aloud, he said, "doing police work now, Clark?" He casually hit his shoulder and tried to sound a little snobbish. "You always were a jack-of-all-trades. Probably makes you a decent reporter, though, am I right, Miss Lane?"

Clark coughed out an awkward laugh and tried to look embarrassed. He vowed to get Oliver for this one later. "Thank goodness I didn't become a police officer, huh, Lois?" He grinned maybe a bit too stupidly, because she eyed him suspiciously.

Darn it, he still couldn't keep up the act quite as well as he'd done in the past. He used to be so convincing, she never gave him a second glance. Now he had to actually work at being awkward, clutzy and shy.

Oliver turned to Lois with his most charming smile. "Shall we continue?"

He captured Lois' attention once more as he spoke about the intricacies of the security system and a few other minor details. But after a while, Oliver began to deflect most of Lois' more detailed questions openly. With a sardonic smile she noted that since he stopped being cooperative, they might as well leave. Oliver played a bit of the mock-insulted boy, and saw them to the door. He once again clasped hands with Clark. "Good to see you again. Call me, we could go out for a drink or something."

"Sounds great," Clark smiled innocently.

"Present company included, of course," Oliver added. "Just don't expect another interview!" He laughed.

Lois shook hands and Jimmy gave another awkward wave, and they were gone.

Back in the taxi, Jimmy was the first to sigh in admiration. "Oliver Queen! Damn it, CK, how come we never knew you guys were buds? To think… the Queen himself." He giggled.

"I didn't know you were such a fan, Jimmy?"

"Oh, I'm not, really …but he's playboy number one in Star City, a real celebrity and all. And did you see how he greeted us, like …well, he was pretty cool" Jimmy concluded sheepishly.

"I think Jimmy's in love", Lois noted. She searched through her bag to find her phone and checked for messages. She did that a lot, lately, Clark noted.

"Waiting for a call?"

"What? No… just checking if… you know, everything is all right."

Clark knew exactly what she was referring to. Ever since the incident with Lex Luthor, she had been worried about her son. _Their son_. The thought seemed wrong in connection with him being Clark Kent at the moment – when Jason embodied exactly the end of that act.

She was staring out of the window. Clark guessed that she was always waiting for that one phone call that would trigger the next crisis. A call from Jason's pre-school, maybe, because he had accidentally ripped a door from its hinges. Or a call from the police, after he stepped out of an accident, unharmed. Clark shuddered at the thought. Who even knew what powers the little guy already had? At least in Kansas, Clark mused, he'd had space to explore his abilities without running into other people all the time. Or maybe Lois was expecting a call from Richard, demanding an explanation. Had she told him or hadn't she?

He wished he could be there more often – and more openly – to help his son figure out this strange heritage he had thrust upon him.

Lois noticed he was staring at her, and admonished him. "Earth to Clark," she grimaced.

"Huh, what?"

"…Never mind." She paused a little. "Nothing against Queen, but I wish we'd stayed on Luthor for now. I have a personal score to settle," she added quietly.

Clark couldn't think of anything to say. Jimmy turned around to ask, "what was the problem with Luthor?"

Lois sighed. "There was just nothing. No leads. I mean, usually we got something, but this time… it's eerie."

"I guess that was the idea," Clark said.

"I interviewed neighbours of the victims, I checked out his old business contacts, re-checked a lot of archive footage… all useless." She looked defeated.

Jimmy tried to sound hopeful. "Don't worry, something will come up, it always does! Luthor is not so smart."

They stepped out of the taxi and returned to the Daily Planet.

Clark turned left and right, checking whether he was being watched. Concerning security cameras, his new desk was positioned somewhat in a blind spot in the newsroom – he had seen to that. Most people were gone for the night, he noticed, even Perry. As usual, only he, Lois, and some cleaner guy remained. Lois was typing away on her interview, whilst simultaneously browsing the online press archives of Star City.

Clark sighed. Being almost alone was calming. He aimed his heat vision at his half-empty coffee cup, and proceeded to sip the newly hot drink in silence. He felt more comfortable when he could occasionally use his powers for these little things. After all, he reasoned, it was only natural to him.

Clark was researching Queen Industries' business deals from previous years when he received a text from Oliver. "Come over, I need to tell you the rest." He gathered his things, shut down the computer and quickly stopped by Lois' desk. "Uh, I'm off, goodnight, Lois," he stammered. She barely looked up. "Sure, night, Clark…"

He turned and left. She called after him, "don't think I've forgotten about the Queen thing. I'll grill you first thing tomorrow, Smallville!"

But even her attempted threat sounded half-hearted. Just as Superman had trouble being Clark Kent again, Lois seemed to be having problems being Lois Lane, fearless reporter.

As Clark stood in the elevator, he X-Rayed back through the walls, to see her grab her ringing phone. "No, of course not," Clark heard her say. "Of course I haven't forgotten. You always say that! Yes, I'll be there in a few. Packing now. Bye." She sighed, snapped her phone shut and looked forlorn around the office.

Clark ascended to the roof, unhappy about leaving Lois like this. He pulled off his suit, changed into Superman and launched off in the general direction of Ollie's apartment.

When Superman appeared in front of the wall-high windows of the apartment, Oliver jumped and nearly spilled his Scotch.

"Sweet mother of Jesus, Clark! Can't you knock, like normal people?!" he exclaimed, opened a window, and slumped in his chair again.

Superman winced at the careless use of his name and quickly X-Rayed the apartment again for bugs. There were none, and he decided to refrain from admonishing his friend.

"You sounded urgent."

Ollie scoffed at his "Superman"-voice. "You know, I think I prefer your alter ego. Not as intimidating. More casual." He accompanied his words by sloppy gestures. He looked distraught, and a little tipsy.

"Oh come on, you don't really find me intimidating, do you?" Clarked smiled. Oliver took another look at him, probably re-iterating in his mind every argument he'd ever brought up against the – in his mind – 'ridiculous' suit. "Not really."

"Okay then, what's the whole story?"

Oliver sighed. "Whatever you saw in the ventilation shaft, I suspected it to be there. Some kind of timer, or a sensor?"

Superman walked to the ventilation and took a quick look. "A motion sensor, probably, and a heat camera."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "You can tell that from here? …Never mind. Can you get it out?"

"Not without breaking your wall."

"Hm. I'll take care of it tomorrow, then."

"You suspected this?"

"Yes," Oliver frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. "It means this wasn't an attempted murder – this was a successful one."

Superman nodded. He had thought as much. "Whoever released the gas made sure that you were gone. But why your secretary?"

Oliver walked back to his desk and leaned against it. "Malcolm was not only damn good at his job. He was also a close friend. He's been working for me for years, kind of a personal confidante…"

Superman sensed where this was going. "He knew."

"Yes. He helped me manage the double life. Honestly, Green Arrow wouldn't have made it without Malcolm."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Clark lowered his head. This was one of the worst things he could think of. Confidantes, friends, lovers… put yourself in the path of danger, and you draw those closest to you along.

Clark thought for a moment. "But do you think this was why he was killed? Maybe the business you were involved in…"

"I'm not sure, that's the problem. As a secretary, he was valuable, but easily replaced. As Green Arrow's P.A. – rather irreplaceable."

Clark nodded. "But if someone suspected something, why not capture and interrogate him?"

Ollie began to pace. "I've been wondering the same thing."

"Unless…"

"Unless they already knew. That's what has me worried."

"Why the secrecy, Oliver? What does it matter if the public knows somebody meant to kill your secretary?"

Oliver sighed. "I know, it seems overly paranoid… but I don't want people fishing too close to the truth here. I don't want them digging - least of all Lois Lane. She's too smart for her own good, if you ask me."

"No need to ask you," Superman mumbled.

Superman's ears suddenly picked up a bank alarm somewhere in Metropolis. His head made an involuntary movement.

"Did you receive any demands, any blackmail from anyone?"

Ollie looked out of the window. "No… it's as if they just wanted to let me know they could."

A car was pulling up to the bank. If he flew now, he would still catch them. Quite the nerve, he thought, robbing a bank in Metropolis. He'd been gone too long.

"Oliver…" he stepped closer to the window. "There's a robbery…"

He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, sure, go."

Superman opened the window. "Oh, and Clark?" Oliver turned to him once more. "Andrew Griffith. He's probably our guy."

Superman rolled his eyes and nodded. Then he flew towards the escaping van, as quickly as a speeding bullet, trying to remember what he knew of Star City's business circles.


	3. Broken Things

Chapter 03

"Broken Things"

Lois was staring at two pins of light in her wine glass. As she twirled the glass between her fingers, the wine moved back and forth, making the light reflect in the glass. The lights drifted apart, and together, apart, and together…

"Lois?"

She looked up. Richard was watching her carefully and grinned. "Are you still with us?"

"What? Oh, Jason, don't play with your food, please."

"Sorry, Mommy," Jason said to the plate, good-naturedly pushing around his potatoes, looking quite oblivious to everything around him, too.

"Sorry, Richard," she smiled. "It's been a long day."

He didn't look too happy about that. When she came home, he had carefully hinted that he had hoped they could spend a nice evening as a family, since he had just come back from Florida. He'd missed them. She wondered whether he had been trying to find out if he would.

"So… you interviewed Oliver Queen! What's he like?"

Lois scoffed. "He's just as everybody describes him. Gregarious, and very… blonde." She actually grinned at that. "He's a little boy who inherited too much. Didn't look like he was seriously bothered by the murder - other than by the inconvenience of it."

Richard's eyebrows went up. "Wow, I mean, yes, I heard about the guy, but… wasn't he also involved in a lot of charity work? Environmental groups, youth sports leagues, that sort of thing?"

"Yeah, they call him the 'Green Bruce Wayne' – quite fitting, actually. He's just as shallow and arrogant. Vanity projects, if you ask me."

"What's a vanity project?" Jason asked.

Richard laughed. "Something that costs a lot of money, but isn't actually very important," he simplified. "Are you done?"

"Yes!" Jason grinned and showed off his empty plate. "Can I go draw?"

"Great, Sweety! Carry your plate to the kitchen, then you can go draw."

Jason scrambled from his chair and carefully carried his plate away.

Lois suddenly felt very sad. This was such a nice evening, and yet she found herself almost unable to bear it. They had to talk, and soon. But every night that went like this, Lois found herself trying to avoid the topic as much as she could.

"You done?" Richard asked. She nodded, and they began cleaning up.

Lois had just finished drying the wine glasses, when a loud crash came from the living room. She and Richard stared at each other for a second, then both rushed over to Jason.

The five-year-old was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, as he usually did when he was colouring on the couch table. Only, the couch table was not where it was supposed to be. Jason was holding it at arm's length above his head. He was breathing heavily, staring at his hands.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lois thought she saw Richard's jaw drop and involuntarily counted the seconds for his mind to work it all out.

Suddenly, Jason dropped the table. It landed with a heavy thunk, and the glass plate cracked in the middle. As he scrambled back on the couch, Richard and Lois ran towards him. He saw them coming, and began to cry.

They quickly sat down next to him, covering him in their arms.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," he sobbed into Lois' chest, "I didn't mean to do it again, I never wanted to do it again, I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm sorry!"

"Shh, sweetheart, it's okay, it's nothing, it's fine, you didn't do anything wrong…" she soothed. Above Jason's head, Richard was staring at her in utter disbelief.

She avoided his gaze while quietly comforting Jason. "Don't worry, honey, it's only a table! We'll fix, it, right, Richard?"

Richard nodded, still not taking his eyes off Lois. He stood and picked up Jason to carry him away. Jason was sniffing loudly, staring at the table in shock. "I only wanted to… the red crayon fell under it and I wanted to… I wanted to…" another volley of sobs broke out.

Lois followed them to the stairs. Richard rocked Jason on his arm, stroking his head, calming him down. He carried him off to bed.

Lois began collecting crayons and paper, and surveyed the damage to the table. Nothing a large table cloth couldn't fix, she thought. A few minutes later, Richard came back down. "He cried himself to sleep," he said, accusation ringing in his voice.

Lois sighed, preparing herself for the conversation she'd been dreading. "We need to talk."

"You think?!" Richard paced the living room.

"Richard."

"When were you planning to tell me, huh?"

"Richard, please, sit down."

"When he goes to school? When he breaks somebody's arm in a playground fight? Wh-when he flies to his graduation party?"

"Please, keep it down."

Richard walked over to her. "Oh, never mind that, don't you think his ears pick up everything we say, anyway?"

"I don't know," Lois whispered.

Richard snorted and wiped a hand across his eyes. She sat down and sighed, and he followed suit.

"You always knew…?" he asked in defeat.

"No!" she burst out. "God, no. Only since… Luthor. He… saved my life," she stammered. "One of Luthor's goons was going to hurt me, and Jason… he stopped him."

Richard stared.

"He pushed a piano across the room," she said quietly, not quite believing it herself. "Knocked the man out. I think… I think he might have really hurt him. He might have even killed him. I don't know what happened to him. Probably, when the boat sank…" Lois wasn't the type to cry, but she started shivering at the memory.

Richard hesitated. "Lois…" He looked like he might come over to put his arm around her, but instead he stood up and began to pace again. "Is Jason okay? I mean... why didn't he say anything? Why didn't _you_ say anything?"

"I... Richard, I thought..."

"I mean, didn't you ever suspect anything? I never asked, you know?"

She looked up. "Asked what?"

"About the pregnancy! You did realize at the time it was a little unusual, right?"

Lois thought about it for a minute. Yes, of course it had been unusual. She hadn't known she was pregnant until around two months into the relationship with Richard, and had naturally assumed Jason was his. They'd been overwhelmed by the news, but on a teary-eyed, romantic evening, when they were both still very much infatuated with each other, they'd decided to make it official and raise their child together.

The 'unusual' part was mainly that according to Lois' doctor, she had been pretty far along already when she came to him. A little too far along, actually. But Lois had always assumed – and told Richard as much – that he must have been mistaken. She knew she hadn't been with anybody before Richard for a while, so a mistake was the only logical conclusion.

She stared at Richard again. "I haven't even asked him yet…"

The unspoken truth again remained unspoken. "But he knows…?"

"He knows. But I… I don't know anything!" She stood up abruptly. "Richard, I swear, I had no idea. I don't remember being with him like that."

He looked incredulous. "What?"

"I don't remember."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Don't you think I would have told you? Don't you think I would have known back then Jason couldn't be yours?"

He wiped a hand across his face, and paced again. He remained silent.

"Richard!" she admonished. "You should know me well enough to…"

"To what? Remember when I asked you whether you were in love with the guy? You lied to my face, Lois, and you're not that good of a liar. Plus, I gotta tell you, I don't go off jumping into the ocean to risk my life for just any random stranger."

Lois sighed. One thing at a time. "Look, Richard, can we please keep the two things apart? I didn't lie about Jason. I honestly didn't know. I told him… and I think he'll try to be… around. To help," she added hastily.

"…Around? Ever thought what that would mean for me? Ever thought that I might not want to be 'around' then?!"

"Richard, please, keep it down," she hissed angrily. "What do you want me to do? Leave you and ask to move in with Superman? He's not just another guy..."

"Don't I know that."

"He can't just settle down and commit to a family, he's got other responsibilities."

"Maybe he should have thought of that _before_ he knocked you up!" Richard snapped and spun around. "You – you're unbelievable! How can you defend the guy?! I mean, for all you know", he lowered his voice to a whisper this time, "he could have raped you! Ever thought about that? If you're telling the truth, that is."

"Don't be ridiculous," Lois scoffed, too mad to say anything else.

"Listen to yourself! How can you take this so lightly?"

Lois finally looked at him. "You know he would never hurt me, or anyone else. This is _Superman_ we're talking about. He is not the villain in this story."

"How can you still trust him after this – with anything?!"

"Jesus, Richard, don't you think I thought this through over the past weeks? Yes, I've got a few bones to pick with him about this. Eventually."

"Bones to pick?!" He looked like he might explode. Lois, however, felt numb. She had envisioned different versions of how this conversation might have gone, and this was definitely the worst-case-scenario. She sighed and pinched her nose, fighting a headache.

"Please, let me do this in my own time? I am not asking for forgiveness, just for you to believe me that I didn't know – and that my world is now as upside down as yours."

He gave a short laugh and stared at her like she had gone crazy. "Lois... I-I don't believe you. I'm sorry, but this is just too much. Either the guy we're all idolizing is actually a total prick, or my fiancé has been lying to me for the past five years. Until now, both seemed impossible!"

This was pointless. "Fine. Superman is a prick, I am a liar, not only to you, but also to myself. But please, Richard, put this aside for one moment and think about Jason. He still considers you his Dad, no matter what. He needs you."

Richard stood quietly in a dark corner of the room. His shoulders slacked. The fight was over.

"You're right," he said quietly. "Whatever happened between you two is none of my business. We need to think about what's best for Jason," he said. But Lois noticed a coldness in his voice that wasn't there before. He seemed sad, but resolute. Richard was leaving her, and she wasn't doing anything to stop him.


	4. Investigations

Chapter 04 – "Investigations"

Lois emptied another coffee cup. She was tired and badly needed some sleep, but she knew she wouldn't get any tonight. Richard had gone to bed after their fight. She had lain down on the couch, but found herself thinking about Superman – and that wasn't helping. She would confront him about it, and until then, she couldn't really change anything about the situation.

As usual, coffee and work were her answer. Her laptop was propped up on the broken coffee table, and a large picture of Oliver Queen topped the article she was reading. Researching the guy had meant reading gossip magazines as well as business reports – seeing photos of him drunk with a model at a club, or shaking hands at a fund-raiser. He really was a stereotypical celebrity through and through.

The more interesting stuff came from the business section. Queen's 'vanity projects' might have made him popular with certain NGOs, but they most certainly made him many enemies, too. Most notable of all was one Andrew Griffith. The business mogul had criticised Queen openly on numerous occasions – for 'bad business decisions', wasting money, and his unruly behaviour.

Lois skimmed the archives of the _Business Star_:

**Griffith To Sell MedFly to Queen**

**Queen "Irresponsible", says Griffith Advocate**

**Queen Industries Hits All-Time Low**

**MedFly Sacks Hundreds, Pensions remain steady**

**"Queen killed MedFly", Griffith says**

**Queen Donates To Youth Fund**

**GyroCorp In Arms Race with Daimler and Queen**

**Daimler wins Arms Race after Surprise Queen Drop-Out**

**Griffith Attacks Queen Industries**

Lois clicked the last article. The blurb reported that Griffith began to surreptitiously buy shares of Queen Industries. The article was written by a certain Chloe Sullivan. She read on:

_Documents available to the _Business Star_ prove that Griffith is certainly not using that keen business sense he is usually famed for. 12% of the shares he bought last year have only fallen in value – a predictable outcome, analysts said. Further shares Griffith acquired this year have a similarly bleak outlook._

_Queen Industries, however, seems still in demand: the small firm TexaGlobal also bought a surprising amount of shares last month. At least it was surprising, until an anonymous tip to the _Business Star_ revealed that the company was also a secret subsidiary by Griffith's own GyroCorp._

_This obvious move to control the majority of Queen Industries' shares is not a sound business move, as insider John Farmer confirms. "Griffith either has a tip, or lost his mind," he stated in a short interview with the _Star_. The most logical conclusion seems that Griffith is acting out of revenge towards Queen, whom he publicly condemned for steering his own company into a wall. _

Lois had to grin. She liked Sullivan's style. However, further research on the subject turned up blank. After that one article, no more information was to be found on the subject. This was strange. Such an obvious attack should have drawn more coverage. It seemed that Griffith deliberately wanted this kept quiet – and succeeded so far. Well, now that Lois Lane was on the job, that was about to change. She pulled up her E-Mails and quickly wrote a note to Sullivan's address at the _Business Star_. Maybe she'd be willing to help.

So far, Lois knew she'd only scratched the surface. Sure, maybe it was just a boring business transaction. But something in Sullivan's tone, as well as her own reporter instincts, were telling her that with these kind of stories, nothing ever remained simple or boring. So far, it was obvious that Griffith hated Queen – but would he stoop to murder?

She checked the public police archives next. Sure enough, Andrew Griffith had assembled quite a list of transgressions - tax evasion, minor allegations of fraud, and embezzlement being only the top contenders. He was currently involved in three lawsuits concerning the supposedly illegal sacking of employees. He had been convicted for almost none of his crimes, Lois noted bitterly, and she was not naïve enough to believe that he might actually be innocent of all charges.

Lois yawned and leaned back. So he was a criminal, and even seemed quite crafty at that. But murder was another story. Would a businessman, who seemed quite capable of taking care of his 'problems' with money actually need to kill someone?

She glanced at her watch, and decided that she had done enough. Maybe things would clear up in the morning. She would definitely need to speak to Clark about Oliver Queen again. Just as she was about to shut down her laptop, a familiar ping notified her of a new E-Mail. Apparently Chloe Sullivan was just as much of a night owl as she.

_Dear Miss Lane,_

_what a pleasant surprise! I've actually heard much about you from our mutual friend Clark Kent. We went to high school together and he helped me run the school newspaper there, did he ever tell you?_

_Concerning your request: You're right about the cover-up – my boss threatened to kick me out, even though she had authorized the article in the first place. There's no love lost between her and Griffith, so I suspected she was under pressure from up high. Shortly after that, my desk was ransacked and my computer stolen. Somebody must have felt that was necessary to prevent further articles. So unfortunately, I cannot send you my material or the interviews._

_It seemed a bit excessive, and I've been dying to get back at the guy. I am planning to come to Metropolis this weekend – would you meet me for Lunch? If Clark is part of your research, bring him along, it would be great to see him again. If not, however, and this is your personal scoop, I won't mention it to him._

_Let me know asap and we can talk more in person._

_Regards, Chloe_

Lois' grinned and shook her head. Apparently, Clark knew people all over the place. She made a mental note to talk to him more, and wondered what he had been like in high school. She was becoming very curious to meet the fellow reporter. Lois briefly thanked Chloe for the E-Mail and agreed to meet for lunch on Saturday. She went to bed feeling considerably more enthusiastic. Walking past Jason's room and finding him sleeping soundly, she smiled. For a moment, things were looking like they were going to work out somehow.


	5. On the Chase

Chapter 05 – "On the Chase"

Clark pushed the _Send_ button and leaned back in his chair. As per agreement with Perry, he had finished writing the obituary notices and the human interest columns before he'd begin working on the bigger stories. He had been up early, preventing a car accident and two muggings, and had decided to go to work straight away afterwards. He began to settle into this routine again quite nicely. It really felt just like old times.

Only it didn't. Something was always slightly off, Clark noticed. The looks Jimmy gave him sometimes. The lines around Perry's eyes. Jason Lane bouncing around the office. Some things had changed, and no matter how many people he saved, he felt somewhat uncomfortable being back.

He heard the elevator doors and turned expectantly, mentally scolding himself for doing this all morning. This time, he got lucky. Lois stepped out, busily chatting on the phone, carrying three large paper cups. She smiled at him in passing, dumped her bag and the cups at her desk and continued on the phone. "No, that won't be necessary, I'll check it out myself. Yes, if you could send that my way immediately, that'd be great. Thank you, that's very helpful. Thanks so much." She snapped her phone shut, threw it on the desk and picked up the coffee again to walk over to Clark. On the way she pushed one cup into Jimmy's hands, who nearly spilled it all over his camera.

"Good morning," Clark smiled. "Seems I'm not the only one who's early to work?"

She handed him a cup. "Ugh, try late. I was up all night, digging up dirt on a Mr. Andrew Griffith. Heard of him?"

He accepted the coffee gladly. "Thanks, but you know this doesn't compensate for sleep. I read a report just last week on the effects of…"

"Clark!" She gave him that look. "Spare me." She walked over to her desk again, and he followed, slightly worried. Was he putting on the Kent act a bit too much? She sounded really pissed off this morning, and didn't joke about his over-protectiveness.

"S-sorry Lois. But anyways, I did some research too, and that Griffith guy came up quite a lot. I also talked to Oliver again, and he mentioned him as a suspect."

She turned in surprise, nearly making him run into her. "A suspect? The police…?"

"No, not an official suspect. But Ollie believes he might be involved."

"'Ollie'?" She raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, Smallville, I still haven't a clue how you come to know so many people." She put down her cup, still untouched, and sat down on her desk. "Guess who I've had the most interesting conversation with last night?"

He pushed his glasses up. "Uh, I don't know, who?"

"Chloe Sullivan. Friend of yours, I take it?"

Clark's face lit up in surprise. "Chloe! Sure, we went to high school together! How did you end up … oh, wait: it's the article on Griffith she wrote, right?"

"Bingo. She seems to be the only one who's managed to get to him, and apparently she nearly lost her job for it."

"Oh, I didn't know that…" Of course, since at the time that must've happened, he had been somewhere in space. Chloe hadn't been too happy about his absence, he reckoned, but her life had gone on just like Lois'.

Lois slapped his arm. "Clark, we really need to get you back in the saddle. If you're working with me again, you need to pick up the pace!" But thankfully, she smiled at that and sat down. "So, you coming to lunch with us on Saturday? Chloe and I have a lot to talk about, it seems!"

"Yes, sure, that would be nice," he stammered. It was sure nice, but also really strange to have Chloe arrange a lunch date with Lois. These were two spheres of his life that hadn't mixed before. Chloe knew almost everything about him from back in Smallville, including about the occasional costume change. Lois, by comparison, knew hardly anything about who Clark Kent really was. This should be interesting.

"Not to worry, I won't spread any of your embarrassing childhood antics. I'll rather keep them as leverage for a rainy day."

"You do that, Lois," he laughed. The more they chatted, the more Lois began to thaw. He faintly wondered where Richard was, today. She seemed more relaxed when he wasn't around.

"LANE! KENT!"

Once more, they filed into Perry's office. Lois pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know you don't have to yell so much, Chief, we're right there," Lois sighed as they closed the door.

"What's the matter, Lane, you got a hangover or what? Now look at this." He pushed over a copy of the _Metropolis Herald_. Below their cover story, a smaller segment reported the Oliver Queen story. From skimming over it, Clark could tell that it was a decidedly less personal and a more disinterested account of the story than the one Lois and Clark had sent Perry.

"The _Herald_ wants me to believe that Queen was hit by some guy he had a personal disagreement with. Not a big deal," Perry said. "What have you got to say to that?"

"Oh bullshit, Perry, that's obviously a cover-up," Lois bristled.

Clark nodded. "I know Oliver, Mr. White. What we gave you was solid."

Lois leaned on the desk. "This is big, Perry, there is much more behind this than we know. Besides, we did some digging, and Andrew Griffith is our man," she said with conviction and cast a quick glance at Clark. "We think he has his ways of keeping things quiet."  
Clark was going to throw in that that was still not as obvious as she made it sound, and that they had no solid evidence to back them up, but decided against it. Perry liked statements, not uncertainties.

"That big-time business guy from Star City?" he grumbled. "You watch yourselves around that guy, kiddos. The more money they have, the more they enjoy crushing nosy reporters. I want a story, not another lawsuit – clear, Lane?"

Clark wondered what trouble she had gotten herself into during the last few years. She used to have a way of getting around certain laws when she thought it 'necessary'.

Lois pulled herself up. "Clear, Chief."

When they were back in the newsroom, Lois threw herself into her office chair and didn't say anything else to Clark, so he slunk back to his own desk and sipped his coffee. Two E-Mails were waiting for him. One was just a brief note from Chloe:

_Hey big guy, what does a girl have to do to get you to stay in touch? I do watch the news and knew you needed some time, but pull yourself together once in a while and give your best friend a call! I don't want to wait for another exclusive with Lois Lane to hear about my favourite hero._

_Speaking of which, I got a very interesting E-Mail from your partner in crime – I hope Lois told you already. Happy to help you both out with this. See you Saturday._

Clark smiled and sent a quick reply. He was happy to hear that his mother and Jimmy weren't the only people who were glad to have him back. He felt bad for not keeping more in touch with Chloe before he left.

The next was from Oliver.

_Griffith is blackmailing me – either I sell him the majority of the shares, or he'll take 'further appropriate measures' to ensure cooperation. Police is involved, evidence went missing from my office._

_Will check out a lead tonight, but I don't dare to get close to his office, might trail me. Could you give it a try? I'll be in the area._

Oh boy, a break-in – Lois would love that. Clark glanced quickly at her desk. She was absent-mindedly sipping her coffee, scrolling through newspaper reports from the looks of it. Her phone beeped. After one look at it, she got up, locked her computer and grabbed her jacket.

"Gotta see a girl about a horse," she told Clark as she passed his desk.

He swivelled around on his chair. "Police contact? Need company?"

Lois hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Sure, whatever." Clark grabbed his jacket and jogged after her. In the elevator he told her about Oliver's E-Mail.

"At least we know now that it's really Griffith," he concluded.

"I thought that was obvious. So Oliver Queen actually suggested we break into his rival's office," she stated and looked at him pointedly. "You realise that's a story all on its own?"

"Well, yes, but Ollie is…" Clark was at a loss for words. What was hew going to say? 'One of the good guys'?

She laughed. "Wow, you're unusually eager to break the law – but I'm not complaining. And don't worry, I know that Griffith is the potentially bigger fish." She poked him in the chest. "But don't think that just because he's your friend I would miss out on exposing him in any other situation!"

"I, uh, I'll give Oliver a heads-up, then, in case he's planning anything." Clark grinned. "What's with the vendetta, Lois? Did Chloe put you up to this?"

"Well… whenever a reporter nearly gets the sack for exposing something, doesn't that make you want to expose it even more?"

"Um, I guess sometimes it's better to still have a job afterwards…"

She sighed. "We haven't done this for ages, you know?"

"Breaking and entering?"

"No, I mean, proper reporter work!"

"You consider breaking and entering proper reporter work?"

Lois laughed. "Well, yeah – the adventures, the chases… we should do this more often again. It's not half as much fun, alone… it's good that you're back, Clark."

"It's good to be back."

Suddenly, Lois looked at him, frowning. He caught himself looking into her eyes for a second, something which he usually avoided all together as Clark Kent. After all, the glasses went only so far. He quickly cast his eyes down.

She turned away again, looking slightly confused. "I'm told there's some more background info on the Queen vs. Griffith case that we won't find on the public servers. My contact promised me some juicy details," she said as the elevator doors opened. Clark only now noticed they'd gone to the car park. "What's strange is that Griffith seems way too obvious. For one, why doesn't anybody else pick up on this? We can't be the only two smart people in Metropolis, right?"

Clark thought about it. "Well, maybe that's it – it's too obvious." They got into Lois' car. "Murder seems just a tad too much for him, so nobody will suspect him."

"My thoughts exactly." Lois let out a yawn, started the car and they sped out of the underground parking lot into the bright bustle of Metropolis.

They were speeding along on the free-way, heading for the bridge towards the outskirts across the bay. Clark noticed that Lois seemed even more tired than this morning. She began, "you know what's also weird?" She yawned again. "Griffith seems like a smart guy, I wonder why he didn't get Queen." Clark gave her a shocked look. "Of course I'm glad he didn't, but I mean – even if it wasn't him – somebody went to all that trouble to spew poison gas into his apartment, and then misses him? That doesn't… add up…" She shook her head drowsily.

"You know, I'm having the weirdest headache…" Lois said, before collapsing on the wheel.

The car veered left, almost grazing the oncoming traffic. Car horns sounded as they radically swerved to avoid them. Lois' foot was still on the gas pedal, weighing it down. They continued to speed up. Clark lunged for the wheel, trying to keep it steady. Lois' head lolled forward, her body hung limp in her seatbelt. He clenched his teeth, thinking fast. If he used his heat ray, he'd likely blow up the car. Cold breath? Won't stop it. Trying to fly the car off the street would definitely gather too much attention.

Clark clung to the steering wheel, focussing on keeping the car steady. After one more heartbeat, they'd cleared the bridge. He pushed against Lois' leg, trying to get it off the gas pedal. He got lucky: She began slipping to the side, and the car slowed down immediately. Cars behind them began honking madly, and they nearly caused a crash then and there. Finally, he managed to pull to the sidewalk just as her foot completely slipped to one side and the car stuttered to a halt.

Clark allowed himself a few seconds just to breathe. His heart raced. He'd done it. He'd actually gotten them out of this without being Superman.

Then, he listened. Lois' heartbeat came a little slow, but steady. He quickly undid her seat belt and checked if she was injured, but it was hard the way she was lying there. He jumped out of the car and walked around it to pull her out of the driver's seat. He laid her down on the sidewalk, head in his lap, fishing for his phone to call an ambulance.

Some people immediately stopped to ask what was wrong; some just stared and waited around. He tried repeatedly to wake her, but she wouldn't respond. She was breathing a little unevenly, but a quick X-Ray showed that she hadn't been injured. Her forehead felt cold, and she looked a little pale. Suddenly, Lois' phone rang. He reached back towards the car and grabbed her handbag. "Hello?"

"Who is this? Where's Lois?"

"It's Clark Kent, her partner." He took a guess. "Are you the woman we're supposed to meet right around now?"

"What happened to Lois?"

"Someone drugged her. She passed out on the wheel."

"You what?!" the woman screamed.

"Not me!" Clark quickly added. "I didn't do anything, I just tagged along! I don't know what happened! I called an ambulance."

A pause. "I should make a note of this at the office, but it would lead to questions about my involvement. Please report this immediately, and tell her to call me, will ya?"

"I understand. I'll let her know."

The woman hung up. Clark sighed and noticed he was attracting a crowd. He told several people around him to move away, to give them space. If there were less people around, he could carry her to a back alley and get changed - Superman could take her to the hospital quicker. He thought about driving there instead, but then he might as well wait for the ambulance. He frantically looked around, but there were still too many people watching. Clark checked her vitals again. She actually seemed okay, and it dawned on him that there might not be a need for Superman this time. He gently brushed a few strands of hair from her face, and waited. Somehow he was glad to just be Clark Kent for the moment.


	6. Honesty

Chapter 06 – "Honesty"

There were hushed voices around her. A dull ache enveloped her head and limbs. Light spots danced over her vision as she tried to open her eyes. People seemed to come closer. She heard Richard.

"I think she's coming around. Lois! Can you hear me?"

She felt someone sit down on the bed as a soft hand cupped her cheek.

"Mommy? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, trying to move. She finally pried her leaden eyes open. She was in a hospital room, dressed in a hospital gown, a needle and an tube sticking out of her hand. She glanced around. Richard sat next to her, and had an arm around Jason, who stared at her. Somewhere in a corner, she thought she saw Clark, who gave her a little wave.

A nurse came in and checked her vital signs. "How are you feeling, Miss Lane?"

She slowly sat up, holding her forehead. "Okay, I think… What happened?"

The nurse briefly glanced at Richard, as if to check whether he wanted Jason out of the room. "You almost had a car accident."

Richard understood and kneeled down to face Jason. "Hey buddy, now that Mommy is awake, why don't we get her something nice from the cafeteria?"

Jason climbed on the bed and hugged Lois. "Are you really okay?"

She held him tightly. "Sure thing little man, I'm fine." He kissed her and jumped off the bed to leave. Richard looked back at her for a moment, giving her a re-assuring smile. "Be back soon."

As the door closed, the nurse continued. "I'm afraid you were drugged, Miss Lane. You lost control of the wheel. If Mr. Kent hadn't been there, this might have ended badly."

Lois looked up. "Clark?"

He stood up and came over, looking relieved. "You gave me quite a scare there, Lois!"

"What happened?"

"Well," he seemed to think about it. "You just got very tired all of a sudden, and next thing I know you're unconscious. I just… grabbed the wheel and somehow got the car to stop. I called an ambulance, and h-here we are." He looked as if he was embarrassed.

Clark Kent, of all people, had saved her life. She wondered where Superman was, and whether he'd seen them. Would he have intervened?

"Wow… I don't know what to say."

"I'm just really glad you're okay," he said. Suddenly, Lois ran her fingers through her hair nervously, thinking about how ridiculous she must look in a hospital gown. "Well, um, thanks for saving me…" Damn it, this was Clark Kent. What in the world made her feel so awkward all of a sudden?"

The nurse watched this exchange and politely made her presence known. "Now that you're up, and your vitals look okay, you're free to leave, Miss Lane." She grabbed a cotton pad and began removing the needle from her hand.

"Sadly, we get quite a lot of these kinds of drug cases these days, but usually the women we see were out after dark and got chatting to the wrong guy." She glanced at Clark. "Have you notified the police?"

"Yes. They said they'd send someone round to the hospital; I think an officer is waiting outside," he added after looking at the wall for a second.

"Well, you got lucky, Miss Lane, but please take it easy for at least a day or two. Plenty of sleep, eat healthy and drink enough water," she admonished routinely. After she left, Clark made to leave as well, but Lois stopped him. "What do you make of this? Attempted murder – again?"

"You think it's Griffith?"

"Or Luthor."

He nodded gravely. "I think it's Griffith, though. It seems a reasonable way of getting you off the case."

"Well, whoever is responsible for this," she mumbled, and swung her legs off the bed, "They now know that it'll take more than a few pills to get rid of Lois Lane."

She swayed slightly on her feet and Clark grabbed her arms and made her sit back down. He bore a worried expression. "Lois… a few pills _would have been_ enough. Don't take this too lightly, please."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry, Clark, I won't forget you saved my ass just yet. I guess we'll have to stick together, huh?"

"Won't let you out of my sight," he said and smirked.

"Clark?"

"Yes?"

"You can let go of my arms now."

"OH. I'm sorry," he mumbled and nearly fell of the bed. She laughed as he left the room in a hurry.

Lois got dressed and collected her things. She had a knot in her stomach. Wasn't threatening to sack her enough? How would Griffith have known about her involvement – did someone have her computer tapped? Or was it Luthor, and she was just another victim in his clean-up-streak?

As she stepped outside, Richard, Jason and Clark were waiting for her. Jason ran over and she picked him up, holding him tight. "Hey, sweety, don't worry, Mommy is fine, really! Look, I don't have any band-aids on, do I?"

Richard smiled a little as Jason checked her arms and face. Her son seemed to be all right with that explanation and declared her healthy. She let him down and looked at the police officer sitting a little to the side. "Let's get this over with."

The four of them left the hospital half an hour later. Lois had cut the police interview short on purpose. Clark had been giving her pointed looks all the way through, since she 'neglected' to mention certain key facts of their involvement with Griffith, and just maintained that somebody out there must harbor a grudge. The police naturally suspected Luthor, vaguely promised to double their efforts and they'd left it at that.

"So, uh, Lois, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?" Clark offered.

Richard gave her a tense look. "It's Saturday, Lois. Can't you take the weekend off? The nurse told us you should take it easy."

Jason ran circles around them and Clark, happily ignorant of the situation once more. Richard was being awfully nice to her, seeing that the last time they'd spoken they had practically broken up. Or had they? Somehow he behaved as if nothing happened, and she wasn't sure where they stood now. She rubbed a hand along her aching neck.

"It's only lunch, Richard. We're going to meet an old friend of Clark's. I'll pick you up at noon, Clark?"

"Um, no offense, Lois, but I'd rather we took a cab this time…?"

She glowered at him. "Fine."

Richard tried to grab Jason by the shoulders absent-mindedly to keep him from running around. "Actually, I could drive you, Lois – Jason is over at Mandy's, aren't you, buddy?" Jason grabbed Clark's coat-hem and was turning it into a cape. "Look, I'm Superman!" he yelled, hopping around, nearly pulling the coat off a very startled Clark. Richard held his breath, and paled slightly. So not like nothing happened after all.

"Sure, okay…" she managed.

"Great! See you at the Planet at noon." Clark turned to Jason. "Hey there, Superman, can I have my coat back?"

"What's the magic word?" Jason said and hid his headunder the coat, only his huge grin sticking out.

"Jason, be nice to Clark, okay?"

"Okay," he mumbled.

"Thanks. Bye, then," Clark said with his usual dorky grin, and was off.

Richard was quiet on the way home, but Lois was glad about it. What a great way to spend a Friday night – surviving being drugged and an almost-car-crash, then staring mutely out of the window, trying to ignore elephant in the room all evening. After Jason had gone to bed, Lois sat down on the back porch, looking over the water. She remembered flying past here with Superman when he'd come back – it seemed ages ago. Some tiny part of her wished things could still be as innocent and easy as they once had been. But then again, she was older now, and somewhat wiser, if that was the right word for it; or maybe she was just disillusioned. She couldn't go back to being that other Lois Lane. She had to be the one she was now, and see this messy story to its hopefully not too gruesome ending.

Richard stepped out with a beer in hand and sat down next to her. He offered her some, but she declined. He sighed, took a swig and stared out over the bay with her. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," she said, truthfully.

"That's good. I was really worried. You haven't gotten into this kind of scrape in a long while. Be careful, okay?"

She looked at him, waiting for further questions. Richard was a reporter, too, after all. But he left it at that.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you last night," he finally continued.

Interesting turn. She was silent, so he continued. "I shouldn't have flipped out the way I did. I think… I think I had bottled up a few things for too long."

"Thank you, but you had every reason to flip out. Heck, I should have actually freaked out more about this, I think…"

He studied her face. "That really was the truth, then? You don't remember anything?"

"No." She didn't elaborate. No need to have another fight.

"Lois… I gotta ask now. Why doesn't this seem to bother you?"

Lois sighed and grabbed his beer to take a swig. "I just don't know, Richard."

He paused and looked over the water for a while. "Well, you said it yourself. He's not just another guy."

She put down the beer and leaned her forehead on her arms. After another long pause, she mumbled, "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. It's not like I didn't guess it before. I can kind of see why you trust him."

"Richard, I… I'm so sorry."

"You know how worried I was when I got Clark's call? That was horrible. To think something might have happened to you – after that fight, no less."

He seemed relatively calm, talking about it now, she noticed. He leaned forward as well. "But… I've done a lot of thinking."

She took another sip of beer.

"I think… when I met you, all I could see was _the_ Lois Lane. The image that you showed to everyone." He leaned back to look at the stars, as if _the_ Lois Lane was somewhere up there, instead. "I had this … fixed image in my mind, of who you were, and you never did anything to correct it, even during all this time."

She blinked in surprise. This was an unexpected amount of honesty from Richard.

"After a while, I noticed that there was another _you_ somewhere underneath the image. Some kind of… desperate, frightened, angry you. But you never… I mean," he hesitated. "When I saw you jump into the water that day… that was it. That was you, returning from going AWOL five years ago."

He finally looked at her. "I'm glad I had these five years with you, Lois, that was truly a gift. I.. wish I could have been able to make you feel more comfortable, more able to let me see that other version of you," he said softly. "But it doesn't matter what I wish for – the past few months must have been hell for you. I'm sorry I didn't pay enough attention to see it. I hope you can …straighten things out with Superman."

After another long pause, Lois finally found her voice again. "Wow. Why didn't we have more conversations like this before?"

"Well, technically speaking, that wasn't a conversation. That was me, monologuing." He took another sip of beer.

"Richard, I … don't know what to say."

"I'm not completely off the mark here, am I," he stated.

"No. I think you're right about me. But it wasn't your fault. I didn't open up because I didn't want to. Of course it matters what you want – maybe if you'd confronted me a little sooner with my own stupidity, I might have…"

They looked at each other, and something tugged her heart. Finally, slowly, Richard pulled her into a hug. Immense sadness filled her. It was too late to fix this, and she didn't care whether or not it was meant to be this way; it was simply sad.

"I've been so stupid," Lois mumbled into his shoulder. "I think, somewhere deep down, I must have known about Jason; or even if I didn't, I just couldn't let go. I'm so sorry, Richard, I just couldn't stop living in the past. You're so perfect and good and kind, and I've always kept you at bay, frozen like a deer in the headlights. It's so unfair. _I was so unfair_."

He stroked her hair. "Maybe. Stop beating yourself up about it. Somehow I don't think it would have been better in any case. It would have just made things weirder in the long run."

She sat up again, brushing hair out of her face. "You're taking this awfully well, all of a sudden," she said. "Why the change of heart since yesterday?"

He gazed in her eyes for a moment. "I don't know," he mimicked her earlier answer and smiled. "I'm not _really_ taking it well, Lois, you should know that." His sorrowful eyes were proof of that. "But I guess I'm a guy who likes things cleared up. Now that I think I know where I stand with you, I can learn to deal with it."

"So where do we stand?"

He looked at his knees. "I think I should be looking for an apartment."

"Sell the house?"

"You could stay here with Jason," he offered.

"That would hardly be fair, I think."

"It's Jason's home. I'd still like to see him."

"Of course. We'll need to find a way to explain this to him properly."

"I think it sucks, and it will suck for him, no matter how we explain this," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Also, we'll still be working together."

"We're both adults," she reminded him. But inside, she knew exactly what he meant. Work would suck.

"I guess so." They continued to stare out over the water for a while, but finally, Richard got up. "Good Night, Lois," he said, and left.

She lay back on the wooden planks and let his words sink in. Studying the stars above her, she felt the pressure that had been surrounding her mind slowly dissipate. Her shoulders sagged with relief. A great weight shifted off her heart. The more she stared, the more it felt like open space was going to draw her in and carry her away like a speck of dust. There was no happiness in this moment. This was not the sudden joy of freedom. But she felt like she could fly.


	7. Priorities - Lois

Chapter 07

"Priorities - Lois"

Lois stood in the bathroom, wrapping a towel round her head with one hand, holding a phone with the other.

"No, Perry, it's really nothing to worry about. I'll…"

"_Nothing to worry…? Lois, I love a good scoop, but it's not worth risking your life on. Go to the police, tell them the rest."_

"I told the police everything they needed to know," she said, and went searching for clothes in her bedroom.

"_But if you don't tell them about Griffith, how are they supposed to do their job?"_

"What good would it have done? We know he'll just cover it up. I want the public to think this was Luthor's work. It makes sense."

"_You want it published like that?"_ Perry sounded incredulous.

"Didn't you say you loved a scoop? Luthor is always good for a headline, right?"

"_Well… whatever. But don't say I didn't warn you. What's he got against Jimmy, though?"_

She stopped in her tracks and dropped a pile of fabric on the bed. "Jimmy? What happened to Jimmy?"

"_Didn't Clark tell you? Same thing! He got drugged and passed out right in the office. Good thing he doesn't have a car."_

Lois stared into nothing, her mind working. She had wondered when someone had the chance to spike her coffee. She thought it must have happened in the newsroom. But if it happened before, it made sense to drug all of the coffees, just to be sure. All three of them.

"Are the coffee cups still there?"

"_Police were here and took yours and Jimmy's in for examination, yes."_

But not Clark's. Because Clark had been wide awake all day long. Quite the immune system, Kent…

The thought lingered in the back of her mind. She hung up, dried her hair and got dressed. When she was about to go downstairs, her phone rung again. It turned out to be Oliver Queen, of all people.

"Mr. Queen? What.. can I do for you?" How did he even get her number?

"_Please, it's Oliver. I wanted to ask how you were. I heard about what happened."_

"I'm okay, thanks for asking… you actually called me just for that?"

"_Can't a guy worry?"_ She could imagine his arrogant grin. _"Besides, it's all my fault. I didn't know Griffith would go so far," _he added more seriously.

"So you think that was him, then?"

"_Who else wants you dead at this time, Miss Lane?"_

"Oh, I don't know… how about Lex Luthor."

That shut him up all right. "Not everything is about you, Mr. Queen," she added, for good measure.

"_Sorry, that must've slipped my mind. I just thought … to tell you to be careful, is all,"_ he continued.

"A lot of people have been telling me that, Mr. Queen, but I don't see how being careful could have avoided the situation."

Why was she so angry? He may have been the cause of this investigation, but it could have happened on any other case, too. Lois rued letting herself get angry after all. She had planned to take this in stride. So someone tried to get rid of me – I'm Lois Lane, I can take care of myself.

"_You're probably right about that. Sorry. Just… make sure you've got Clark with you at all times then, okay?"_

Ugh. Did everybody know about that?

"Will do, Mr. Queen. Lucky me to have a personal bodyguard, huh?"

A pause. _"You're lucky, indeed, Miss Lane. See you soon_." He hung up. He sounded a little strange when he said that. Maybe she should meet _him_ for lunch as well one day and ask a little more about Clark. She began to pull on her clothes. Come to think of it, she knew next to nothing about him. The stunt he must've pulled in the car was actually something she would have loved to have seen – just imagine klutzy Clark Kent heroically throwing himself over the wheel, steering the car to safety, carrying her out…

Lois stopped in her tracks and slowly set her phone down. She felt a faint blush creep up on her cheeks and smiled a little. There was something about the thought of that – a little adventure, a little danger – Richard was right, she hadn't gotten into a scrape like this in years. It felt strangely _appealing_. There was some small piece of her brain that strained to remind her that this was _Clark_ she was musing about, and that there was nothing romantic about a car accident or an attempted murder – but she shut that thought away and simply savoured the unfamiliar warm feeling in her stomach for a while.

When she came downstairs, she immediately regretted some of those thoughts. Richard had made sure that Jason was dressed and had his small backpack with him to take to Mandy's. He didn't often go on play dates, and they always made sure he had a couple of emergency pills against allergies as well as his inhaler with him. Here she was, egotistically indulging herself in daydreams about her adventurous reporter lifestyle, while Richard took care of their son. Her son.

They reached the Daily Planet, and Jason hugged her before she stepped out of the car. "Bye Mommy!"

"Bye, honey, be nice!" She still felt bad about not being there for him, but tried to push the thought away once again.

"I'm always nice," Jason pouted. She waved as they drove off and walked towards the building, checking her messages. Elaine, her police contact, offered to meet her later on.

Suddenly Clark turned a corner and walked towards her. He looked extremely rushed and out of breath. "Hey, Lois, I uh… I'm a little late, sorry."

"Not to worry. Where are we meeting your friend?"

"Chloe should be here any minute."

"Clark…" Lois suddenly suppressed a laugh and stepped closer to study his face. "You have something on your face."

"Oh, I must have… uhm…." he stuttered and quickly rubbed the wrong cheek. Smirking, Lois grabbed a tissue, stretched up and wiped some black spots off his other cheek that turned out to be… oil. "Did you have a car crash this time? What _are_ you up to all the time, hm?" she asked absent-mindedly. She was once more reminded how tall he was, and found that she somehow liked standing this close to him. Something about the moment made her feel nostalgic. She stopped and studied his face. She tried to hold on to the thought, some kind of memory, but it was gone.

"Clark!" A cheerful voice called, and suddenly something blonde swished passed her and threw itself into Clark's arms. Lois took a step back as Clark enveloped Chloe into a big hug.

"Chloe, meet Lois Lane." She let go of Clark, but still had an arm draped around him as she greeted Lois, a little bit out of breath.

"Good to finally meet you!" They shook hands. She looked up at her friend. "I'm sorry, it's just we really haven't seen each other for a long time." They looked very comfortable with being so close to each other, and neither of them broke the contact.

"That's okay," Lois said, slightly awed. It was an odd sight, Clark with a girl.

Chloe beamed at them both. "Shall we go?"

Lois found an opportunity to shine: Being the city gal she was, as well as never really being one for cooking, she knew a great deal of take-outs and restaurants, among them –

"…the best Italian in Metropolis."

Clark and Chloe sat opposite from her, happily stuffing themselves with pasta, as Lois recounted the story of how she discovered the place. After lunch, they stayed on for coffee, and Lois noted with delight that Chloe was just as much of a caffeine junkie as she was. Before Clark had even finished his first cup, the two of them were through their seconds, already fiercely discussing the Griffith case. When Chloe was about to dish the events that led up to her article, Clark excused himself.

"You're going to the toilet _again_?!" Lois exclaimed. "Jesus, Smallville, you have the weakest bladder I've ever seen or heard of." She laughed as Clark slunk away quickly, blushing to his ears.

"Seriously, Chloe, this is the third time since we sat down. Can't take the guy to meetings!"

Chloe smiled, but said nothing. Maybe she was used to it. She looked around, but now, past lunchtime, the restaurant was almost empty. "As I was saying, the revenge bit was way too obvious to go unnoticed. After a while, I even convinced myself that it wasn't that weird of a motivation to begin with. You know, those business types always have it in for each other – it's not uncommon that one would ruin the other out of spite."

Lois nodded. "Actually, I think that goes without saying for nearly every job out there. Oh!"

A news report had come on the TV in the corner, but it was on silent. Lois needed no sound, however, to distinguish a red and blue something flying across the ocean, pushing an entire ship before him. A group of sailors and their captain were being interviewed in the harbour. She pried her eyes away from the screen and looked to the waiter. "Can you turn this up, please?"

Their waiter stopped in his work and stood there, watching. He apparently hadn't heard her. "I love that guy," he finally said, and turned to them. "Last month, he saved my daughter from falling off a bridge on a school trip! Just like that!" He shook his head in happy disbelief. "I dunno how he did it, too. How he can always be around, you know, when you need him?"

Lois felt a little jolt in her stomach. "I remember that," she said. "I covered it for the Planet." She and Clark had been on their way to chase another story when the girl fell. Once more she got to be present when Superman showed up, without being able to talk to him.

The waiter turned around and smiled in surprise. "That's right, I thought I knew you from somewhere! Lois Lane, right?" He came over to shake her hand. "Love your stuff, Miss."

"Thanks. Oh, and likewise - best Italian in Metropolis, I always say," she winked.

"We try," he said and left with a grin on his face.

"Anyways," Chloe began, and Lois tried to focus. After all, Superman saved people all the time. "Yes, sorry, go on."

"Like I said, revenge. But if you think about it, that's not so extraordinary that you might try to get someone fired over it. The transactions might have been stupid, but they were definitely legal – in that case."

Lois' mind was on the job once more, shutting out the man in blue. "I noticed our friend had a few run-ins with the law before."

"Precicely." Chloe leaned across the table. "Griffith is not someone to back down from using any means to get what he wants. It's almost strange that in this case, he didn't. He used subsidiaries, sure, but everything else checks out."

"You know, it occurs to me that if he hadn't tried to fire you over this, it might have blown over without anybody thinking anything of it. Why the fuss?"

Chloe stirred her coffee thoughtfully. "Well, he kind of succeeded. I don't know."

Clark returned from the direction of the bathrooms, looking slightly winded. He grinned at Lois, pushed up his glasses and silently slipped back into their booth. He and Chloe watched the TV intently while Lois shuffled through the assorted papers spread out on the table. She was willing herself not to look up, and sure enough, the news report finally ended. She sighed inwardly and quickly picked out the sheet of numbers she had been looking for.

"Hey, check this out. All the trouble between GyroCorp and Queen Industries dates back to sometime last year." She looked for another document. "Yes, this is definitely when it started, look," she held the printed lists for Clark to see.

Chloe leaned over. "You're right – you know from what I picked up, it always sounded like Griffith had a thing against Queen for years, but he really only started changing his tactics around that time."

"Maybe that's just all there is to it," Clark cautioned. "He just figured he would be more effective like this."

"Come on, Smallville, use your imagination!" Lois said. "Something must have happened back then."

"Couldn't we go back to the Planet and do some more digging? I have some contacts I could try again – and through you, no one back in Star City will know I'm involved again," Chloe offered.

"Contact!" Lois suddenly slapped her forehead. Elaine. "You guys go ahead; I have someone I need to see." She got up and grabbed her bag. "Unfinished business," she said with a look at Clark and ran out.

"Wait, Lois, you haven't paid…" Clark began, but he was too late, she was already out the doors.

In an alley a few blocks away, Lois leaned against a wall and cursed her shoes. She'd definitely need to change to flats for the planned break-in. Suddenly, Elaine appeared behind a fire-escape. "Lois."

"Oh! You gave me a scare. Good to see you."

"How are you? Your partner said you were drugged?"

"Partner…? Oh, you spoke to Clark?"

"I called you yesterday when you didn't show," Elaine went on, occasionally checking the alley behind her. "He picked up and told me you nearly had an accident. He'd called an ambulance. Didn't he tell you?"

"Oh, he must've forgotten." Again, she felt that funny warmth in her stomach. "But not to worry, I'm all right. Not so easy to keep quiet, you know?" She tried a brave face.

"Good to hear. Well, here we are," she said and handed Lois a heavy envelope. "I'm glad I got my hands on these at all. Make the most of them."

"I will," she promised. "If I pitch this correctly, we'll expose him, and hopefully that will encourage the right people to stop shielding him."

"Good. I gotta go. See you around, Lois."

"Take care."

Elaine disappeared quickly and Lois stuffed the envelope into her bag. She made her way back to the main streets through trash cans and fire escapes, and called a Taxi to the Planet.

In the newsroom, Clark and Chloe stood by Clark's desk, in hushed conversation. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, only a few reporters were in, and even Perry seemed to have taken a weekend off for once. Lois went over to her desk, dropped the envelope and called to the other two to join her. She crawled under her desk to find the right cable to plug the hard disk in.

"I take it your meeting was successful?" Clark said, and began rifling through a stack of photos.

"Wow, Lois, this is great," Chloe remarked. "With the pictures alone you could nail Griffith to the wall."

"I know," she said as she crawled back from under the desk. "I had a quick look in the taxi, but I think the other stuff is more intriguing. Photos go only so far – these only make him look bad. But we need hard evidence."

"But… these are blueprints," Clark said in astonishments. "They look like Oliver's office!"

"Bingo. But unfortunately, I think he might…" her phone's noisy ringtone interrupted her.

"Lois Lane?"

"_Munchkin! How are you?"_

"Dad? Yeah, I'm fine…" She hadn't told him about the drugs. She never told him about her occupational hazards unless she had to.

"_Great. Listen, I'm calling to invite you and Richard to dinner tonight. I'm having a colleague over from the base, and I thought it would be a nice opportunity to get together again. You hardly come over to the base anymore!"_

"Dad, whenever I call, you're either in a foreign country or otherwise not available," she chided. She turned away from Clark and Chloe, rolling her eyes. The two were exchanging grins.

"_Oh come on, honey, I do try, don't I? I'm here now, right?"_

"…I guess so. But I'm busy."

"_How are you always busy? It's Saturday night!"_

"Just what Richard said," she mumbled before she could stop herself.

"_See, I told you he was smart. When are you two gonna get hitched again?"_

This was getting worse by the minute. She walked away from the desk to keep the conversation at least a little private. "Listen, Dad, Richard's already got plans, and Clark and I have some leads to chase. The news don't care it's Saturday, unfortunately," she pleaded.

"_Oh come on, you gotta eat, don't you? Get over to the base, have some dinner with your old man, then go off again to chase your stories. I won't keep you for dessert, I promise. How's 7 o'clock for you?"_

She hesitated. It would be nice to see him. And it wasn't for long, really. The alternative was being home with Richard all evening – since he had, actually, no plans that she knew of – before finding another excuse to leave again.

"Sure, Dad. Okay."

"Hah! I mean… great. See you later, Lo."

She marched back to her desk. Chloe and Clark were sorting through papers and looking at her expectantly.

"So, Clark… how do you feel about dinner at my Dad's place before breaking into a billionaire's office together?"


	8. Priorities - Clark

Chapter 08

"Priorities – Clark"

Superman's entire body was rigid with tension as he stemmed himself against the tanker. Water was running off his suit and cape and into his eyes. Finally, the giant ship began to budge. His hands had already created huge dents in the metal side, but so far, the ship endured the unusual pressure without giving in. He hoped it would just hold a little longer.

He'd picked up the emergency signal just in time. The captain and his crew were safely off the sinking ship before he started to fix the damage. He closed a leak with his heat-vision, encased some of the escaped oil in slabs of ice with his breath; now he only had to push the swimming death trap back to dry land, before it contaminated the entire Indian Ocean with oil.

While he pushed and steadied the ship through the dark evening air, his ears where nonetheless tuned in to Metropolis. Lois was okay, and so was Jason, but he wanted to be sure to be the first to know when that changed. Whenever he left town to help people around the world, he felt uneasy. Luthor watched the news; surely he would know to strike when he was farthest away. He knew he was just biding his time.

His hands slipped on the side of the ship. With a terrible grating noise, a huge tear appeared in its side, as the metal finally succumbed to the pressure of supernatural strength. Superman flew around the ship and once more welded the tears together with his heat ray, careful not to set anything on fire. The situation was getting more volatile by the second. He needed to concentrate. Lois was talking to Oliver on the phone. Jason was with Richard. Both men would look after his family for the moment. He was not always needed 'around'. He was needed everywhere else, most of the time. And yet… With growing anger, he pushed against the ship until it practically flew across the waves back to shore.

* * *

Around midday, back in Metropolis, Clark buttoned up his shirt, hiding the slightly oil-stained suit underneath, and put on his big, black-rimmed glasses. He quickly struggled into his suit jacked as he turned the corner.

"Hey, Lois, I uh… I'm a little late, sorry."

"Not to worry. Where are we meeting your friend?" She seemed pre-occupied with something. Worry creased her forehead.

"Chloe should be here any minute."

"Clark…" Suddenly, Lois frowned as she studied his face. As she stepped closer, his stomach did a back-flip. He was still expecting her to suddenly tell him that she knew about his secret identity ever since he came back. But she never did.

"You have something on your face." She was laughing now, brushing off the recent oil spots. He made a mental note to check himself in the mirror more often when changing disguises. Suddenly, she froze. In the bright sunlight, her eyes looked strangely pale and distant. The moment passed, and Chloe bounded into his arms.

* * *

"Wait, Lois, you haven't paid…" Clark called after Lois as she sprinted out of the restaurant. Chloe chuckled. "Is this a usual thing?"

"It kind of is, yes," he sighed.

"You two seem to make a good team," his old friend observed. "You were happy here, before you left."

He stared out of the door, after Lois. "Yes," he finally said. "I… things were pretty good. But I had to go."

"I know." She was silent for a while. "When are you going to tell her?"

Clark looked around the restaurant, but it was still empty. They only heard the distant noise of traffic and the humming of a dishwasher in the kitchen. The usual buzz of Metropolis that only he could detect he kept in the back of his mind.

"I don't know. I… there's so much…"

"Why don't you start at the beginning?"

So he told her everything, from Luthor, to Jason, to the big lump of Kryptonite in space. He felt so angry, and at the same time so helpless. "The thing with Lois… I can't do anything about it anymore. It's a mess."

"What do you mean? Can't you just … you know, talk to her? Explain?"

"But it will make things so complicated. I better stay out of it all," he evaded, not looking at Chloe.

"Jesus, Clark!" She slammed her hand on the table, and he jumped and looked at her in surprise. "You don't have the option of staying out of this, remember? You're his father; you've got to take responsibility. Tell her everything – it can't make things more complicated than they already are."

"But maybe…"

"Nothing maybe! She'll find out sooner or later that Jason's your son, and then she'll be really confused. Go and talk to her. Soon."

"…Okay," he conceded.

Chloe rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her coffee.

* * *

"So, Clark… how do you feel about dinner at my Dad's place before breaking into a billionaire's office together?"

"Uh… I.. what?!" Clark did a genuine double-take. He'd heard the entire conversation Lois had with her father, of course, and he would swear that no such thing had been suggested by either of them.

Lois slapped his arm. "Oh come on, Smallville, it's just my dad. He practically begged me to come over tonight – and it'll be much more bearable with someone else there, too."

Chloe watched their exchange with a grin and just shrugged as Clark looked at her for help.

"Um, I don't know, Lois, what about Richard?"

Her face fell. "He… can't. Look, you're not getting out of this, because you're my excuse to leave early."

"To break into a billionaire's office?"

"Did you forget about Griffith already? That was the plan, right?"

"Uh…"

"You're not getting out of that one, either. Now come on, let's go through these files," she added and accessed the hard disk.

Two hours later, they had sorted through E-Mails, business ledgers and contracts, painting an almost coherent picture of Andrew Griffith's moral code. It seemed that their original assumption had been correct; he never strayed to murder. He blackmailed and cheated, but considered that all part of 'doing what was necessary' to stay ahead in the business world. Clark was reminded of Lex Luthor and shuddered to think how many more like him were out there.

"So," Lois concluded, "he's bad. But what about Malcolm? It doesn't fit."

"Maybe something pushed him over the edge?" She shared a glance with Clark, who tried to look inconspicuous; but Chloe narrowed her eyes. She knew he knew something, but had learnt not to confront him about secretive behaviour in front of others.

"Or someone," Lois mused, unaware of the little exchange. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

"You look tired," Clark said. "I – I could grab some coffee for us, if you'd like…"

"Oh, that would be great, actually," she nodded, "I'll have milk, and no drugs, please."

* * *

A few hours later, Clark drove Lois' car out of town, towards her father's military outpost. She had said nothing when he offered to drive, but seemed still a little reluctant to get back behind the wheel so soon. Clark noted that despite her assurances, the near-accident had shaken her up. He remembered being at the base once or twice, as Superman, putting out a fire and helping with an evacuation during an earthquake, but he hadn't specifically met the General yet.

"So…" he began, trying to make conversation. "How does your Dad like being a granddad?"

"Um, yeah, it's great," she said, looking at him quizzically. "We don't visit him much, though. He's away a lot."

"I understand."

They were silent again. So far, Clark really hadn't had much luck trying to get Lois to chat.

"You said he had a visitor today?"

"Some friend from the base. Apparently the guy's the head of the research division. Strange, really," she added. "My Dad is not usually into research."

"You know, I think I've heard of this department. I re-read some of the issues from the _Daily Planet_ I missed, and there was an expose on their work. Something W… Walden…" Clark trailed off.

He actually remembered quite well that the man's name was Walker, and that his research involved Kryptonite. His mother had saved all _Daily Planet_ issues that somehow concerned Superman for him, and he'd read through them to catch up on what he'd been missing.

"Walker," Lois said, once more staring out of the window. "He works with Kryptonite. I remember they had a lot of lead delivered to the base, and there was a controversy at the time about the cost."

"Why is that?" Clark gave her a careful look. She had a strain in her voice.

"Well…" she paused. "At the time it seemed unrealistic that Superman would return, so why the need for lead?"

Clark was silent at that.

Suddenly, Lois turned to him again. "You re-read old issues of the Planet?!"

"I, uh…"

"When do you find the time for these things, Clark?"

He managed a sheepish grin. "Um, you know, I'm … well-organized."

"Ha!" she laughed. "Well-organized, my butt. You don't work enough, that's all!" She challenged.

If only she knew. But Clark was glad the conversation steered into more manageable topics, rather than to Superman. "Just because you need hours to proofread your articles doesn't mean we all do," he teased.

"Well, anyone can proofread something, that's not why I became a reporter, Clark. I have better things to do than work on my diction!"

They continued with their friendly banter for the rest of the trip, and Clark found himself once again very happy about being Clark Kent for the day. The times that Lois talked like that to Superman were definitely over. While that made him sad, he was glad that at least she could still be herself with her old partner. How would she react when she learned the truth? If she ever did, again.

As soon as Clark parked the car, a tall, broad-shouldered man ran out of the house.

"Lois!" - "Dad!"

Lois disappeared into a huge set of arms. When Clark came closer, her father released her. "I see you brought a guest! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Dad, meet my partner from the Daily Planet, Clark Kent."

"Nice to meet you, sir, uh, …General," he stammered, shaking his hand. "I hope I'm not being an inconvenience, Lois said…"

"Not to worry, son," he barked, shaking Clark's hand as strongly as he could. "I know my daughter has her way in all things, and I doubt you could have said no to the invitation, am I right, honey?"

She slapped his back and they turned towards the house. "It's not like you ever have not enough food. Besides, we've got some work to do tonight, and it's on the way."

"You won't let me forget it, will you? Don't worry, I won't keep you long. Still glad you're here. Too bad Richard couldn't make it."

They walked in and were joined by a tall, thin gentleman Clark recognized from the photos in the papers.

"Greg Walker," he grabbed his hand. "Nice to meet you." A perfectly rehearsed, winning smile flashed across his features as he greeted Lois in turn. He looked about ten years younger than her father, with just the hint of grey in his hair.

"So great to meet you, Miss Lane, I've heard much about you."

"No doubt," she smirked and threw a glance at her father.

"Oh no, Sam wouldn't dream of bragging about you nearly as much as you deserve," he continued smoothly as the General led them to the dining room. "I mean I read the papers, Miss Lane, and you have made a name for yourself." Lois raised an eyebrow and threw Clark an amused smile when Walker wasn't looking. They sat down, as a friendly housekeeper served them dinner.

"I read about your projects in the papers, too, Dr. Walker. You're dealing with Kryptonite?"

"Please, I am a friend of the family, why don't you call me Gregory?"

"Very well," she smiled. "So, Gregory, when did you become interested in the material?"

"Am I being interviewed, Miss Lane?" He laughed.

She smiled. "Just making conversation."

"All right – I began studying the effects of Kryptonite when I was still at university, as it happens. It's always been a … pet subject of mine, if you will."

"Well, it is quite the dream come true - working on it at your own research station then?"

"You could say that," he said and took a sip of wine. Clark thought he looked incredibly proud of himself.

"But aren't you afraid your research could be used for unethical military experiments?"

Clark nearly dropped his fork, and the General gave a cough. "Now, Lois, we're just having a nice family dinner – there's no need to go around discussing something like that."

But Walker laughed it off. "Not to worry Sam, not to worry. We need sharp reporters like her to keep us on our toes!"

The General grumbled something into his glass.

"Of course my research benefits the military, Miss Lane, or at least I hope it will, one day. That's the reason they hired me and gave me my lab, after all! However," he looked her in the eyes. "I have absolute confidence in their methods, and I trust in the safety and independence of my work while I'm here."

The General nodded approvingly. Lois raised an eyebrow and continued eating. Clark finally piped up, and everybody seemed somewhat surprised he was still there. "D-do you have any results you're willing to share, Doctor? Confidentially, of course."

"Ha! Your partner is just like you Miss Lane! I'm afraid I can't tell you much, Mr. Kent, and even if I could, I am under orders not to share with the press what hasn't been confirmed. You understand," he added.

Clark smiled, and pretty much dropped out of the conversation again.

"Have you discussed your storage of Kryptonite with Superman, by any chance?"

Dr. Walker smiled condescendingly. "Sadly, not everyone has such a… direct connection to our beloved hero."

Lois and Clark stared at him for a second, both probably thinking the same: Could he know about Jason?

"I don't know what you've read in the tabloids, _Mr. Walker_, but I'm not sure I have much of a connection to a man I merely interview from time to time," she said icily and downed her glass of water.

The General looked from one to the other and quickly intervened. "Now, now, Greg, there's no need to hassle Lois. She does her job, and you do yours; I'm sure if you asked nicely, Superman would gladly discuss your research with you. Didn't you say he'd just been to his home world? Maybe he's got some new insight he'd like to share?"

A smile played around Walker's lips. He'd managed to annoy Lois with his words and was clearly enjoying it. Clark decided that he definitely didn't like the man.

"Actually," he said, "I'm sure Superman would be, uh, very interested in your work, Dr. Walker."

Walker looked like he was going to say something about where Superman could stick his interest, but then decided against it. "I'm sure he is. Well, I'll give him a call," he laughed. Lois still looked furious, but had caught herself a little.

The conversation steered back to more general topics, and they finished dinner relatively amicably. Clark made a point of asking the middle-aged lady who brought their dinner who had cooked the wonderful meal. He felt incredibly awkward about being served like this, and felt he needed to make up for it.

Linda, who it turned out had worked for the General for over ten years now, seemed surprised. "Well, I cooked it myself, as always," she said.

"I'm not sure my mother would like to hear me say this, but this is some of the best food I've ever had," Clark said with his friendliest smile.

Linda blushed a little, and chuckled. "Well, I never," she managed, and glanced at the General. "You could sure learn some manners from this nice boy, General!" He mumbled something and shifted uncomfortably. The mood around the table lightened up, until soon Lois excused herself and Clark in the name of "chasing leads".

The General accompanied them to the door, and Walker joined them briefly. Clark made a point of checking by the kitchen to say goodbye to Linda and thank her again.

"No hard feelings, Miss Lane?" Walker shook her hand.

"We'll see," she said, but managed a smile. "I'll give your department a call about scheduling a proper interview for another time."

"That will be great," he said, but his smile didn't reach his eyes, this time.

"Bye, pumpkin."

"Dad!" Lois scolded and gave him a hug.

As Clark drove off, she sighed in relief. "Survived again," she said.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?"

Lois gave him a look.

"Okay, I can't stand that Walker guy, but dinner was great," he said.

After that, Lois couldn't stop laughing until they reached the city.


End file.
